Vega is the Harp Star | Brightest Stars | EarthSky Vega is the Harp Star By Larry Sessions in Brightest Stars | July 20, 2016 One of the prettiest stories in all skylore surrounds this star. “On the 7th night of the 7th moon … “ Image via Fred Espenak . Used with permission. The beautiful blue-white star Vega has a special place in the hearts of many skywatchers. Come to know it, and you will see. Follow the links below to learn more. Vega science How to see Vega. Observers in the Northern Hemisphere can see the star Vega come into view in the northeast in mid-evening in May. Look for this star in the very early evening in June – high overhead on autumn evenings – in the northwestern quadrant of the sky on December evenings. The constellation Lyra the Harp and its brightest star Vega Vega is easily recognizable for its brilliance and blue-white color. You can also easily pick out its constellation Lyra, which is small and compact, and consists primarily of Vega and four fainter stars in the form of a parallelogram. The little constellation Lyra has some interesting features.

Near Vega is Epsilon Lyrae, the famed “double-double” star. Between the Gamma and Beta stars is the famous Ring Nebula, visible in small telescopes. Vega is one of three stars in an asterism – or noticeable star pattern – called the Summer Triangle to the early evening sky. The other two stars in the Triangle are Deneb and Altair . You can see the Summer Triangle in the evening beginning around June, through the end of each year. Tanabata and her lover meet on a bridge of magpies across the Celestial River, each year on the 7th night of the 7th moon. Image via Anhellica/Lilliacerise’s blog Here are the stars depicted in the illustration above, from Matthew Chin in Yuen Long, Hong Kong. He wrote: “Happy Chinese Valentine’s Day: the Qixi Festival .” This festival in China is August 9 in 2016, August 28 in 2017 and August 17 in 2018. Vega in history and myth. In western skylore, Vega’s constellation Lyra is said to be the harp played by the legendary Greek musician Orpheus.

It’s said that when Orpheus played this harp, neither god nor moral could turn away. Vega is sometimes called the Harp Star. But the most beautiful story relating to Vega comes from Asia. There are many variations. In Japan, Vega is sometimes called Tanabata (or Orihime), a celestial princess or goddess. She falls in love with a mortal, Kengyu (or Hikoboshi), represented by the star Altair. But when Tanabata’s father finds out, he is enraged and forbids her to see this mere mortal. Thus the two lovers are placed in the sky, where they are separated by the Celestial River, known to us as Milky Way. Yet the sky gods are kind. Each year, on the 7th night of the 7th moon, a bridge of magpies forms across the Celestial River, and the two lovers are reunited. Sometimes Kengyu’s annual trip across the Celestial River is treacherous, though, and he doesn’t make it. In that case, Tanabata’s tears form raindrops that fall over Japan. Many Japanese celebrations of Tanabata are held in July, but sometimes they are held in August.

If it rains, the raindrops are thought to be Tanabata’s tears because Kengyu could not meet her. Sometimes the meteors of the Perseid shower are said to be Tanabata’s tears. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope recently captured this image of the star Vega, located 25 light years away in the constellation Lyra. Spitzer was able to detect the heat radiation from the cloud of dust around the star and found that the debris disc is much larger than previously thought. Image Credit: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Size of star Vega in contrast to our sun. Image via RJHall at Wikimedia Commons Vega science. Vega is the 5th brightest star visible from Earth, and the 3rd brightest easily visible from mid-northern latitudes, after Sirius and Arcturus. At about 25 light-years in distance, it is the 6th closest of all the bright stars, or 5th if you exclude Alpha Centauri, which is not easily visible from most of the Northern Hemisphere. Vega’s distinctly blue color indicates a surface temperature of nearly 17,000 degrees F, making it about 7,000 degrees hotter than our sun.

Roughly 2.5 times the diameter of the sun, and just less than that in mass, Vega’s internal pressures and temperatures are far greater than our sun, making it burn its fuel faster. This causes Vega to produce 35-40 times the energy of the sun, which in turn shortens its lifetime. At about 500 million years, Vega is already middle-aged. Currently it is only about a tenth the age of our sun, and will run out of fuel in another half-billion years. In astronomer-speak, Vega is an “A0V main sequence star.” The “A0” signifies its temperature, whereas the “V” is a measure of energy output (luminosity), indicating that Vega is a normal star (not a giant). “Main sequence” again testifies to the fact that it belongs in the category of normal stars, and that it produces energy through stable fusion of hydrogen into helium. With a visual magnitude (apparent brightness) of 0.03, Vega is only marginally dimmer than Arcturus, but with a distinctly different, cool-blue color.

Vega’s position is RA: 18h 36m 56.3s, dec: +38° 47′ 1.3″. Brilliant Star Vega Lights Up July Nights Brilliant Star Vega Lights Up July Nights By Joe Rao, SPACE.com Skywatching Columnist | July 22, 2011 05:05pm ET MORE Look directly overhead to find the star Vega in the constellation Lyra. North is at the top of this sky map. Credit: Starry Night Software Standing almost directly overhead around midnight on July nights is the brilliant bluish-white star, Vega, in the constellation of Lyra, the Harp. It's the fifth brightest star in the entire sky and the third brightest visible from mid-northern latitudes, behind Sirius and Arcturus. Also, as seen from mid-northern latitudes such as New York or Madrid, Vega goes below the horizon for only about seven hours a day, meaning that you can see it on any night of the year. The sky map of Vega here shows how the star appears in relation to constellations and other stars.

Farther south, Vega is below the horizon for an even longer interval of time. Conversely, for Alaska, central and northern Canada, as well as central and northern Europe, Vega never sets and is readily visible on any night of the year. Popular misconception As a young boy I used to spend my summers at Long Island's Atlantic Beach. On clear nights, my Uncle Bob would point to Vega and tell me that it was "the North Star, the brightest star in the sky." Of course, he was wrong: the North Star is Polaris at the end of the tail of Ursa Minor, the Little Bear. Even today the idea that the North Star is the brightest star in the sky continues to be a popular misconception. [ Stunning Daily Photos of Stars and Galaxies ] Vega is the brightest of the three stars forming the large " Summer Triangle " consisting of Vega, Altair and Deneb. It is located 25 light-years away, has a diameter approximately three times that of our sun and is 58 times more luminous.

In January 2002, astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass., announced that features observed in a cloud of dust swirling around Vega may in fact, be the signatures of an unseen planet in an eccentric orbit around the star. Getting the name wrong Observations of Vega in 1983 with the Infrared Astronomy Satellite provided the first evidence for large dust particles around another star , probably debris related to the formation of planets. This discovery likely inspired Carl Sagan to place a planet orbiting Vega in his novel "Contact." "Contact" was also made into a 1997 American film, directed by Robert Zemeckis. I personally enjoyed it for the most part, except for one thing; the mispronunciation of Vega. [ What Makes an Alien Encounter Movie Believable? ] Vega is correctly pronounced "Vee-ga." But between 1971 and 1977, the Chevrolet division of General Motors produced a lightweight four-cylinder automobile that was christened after Vega.

The car's name was marketed as being pronounced "Vay-ga." For years thereafter, whenever I gave planetarium shows or lectured under the real sky, I would remind my audience that Vee-ga was a star, but Vay-ga was a car. Unfortunately, it appears that the latter pronunciation carried-over two decades later into the production of the film "Contact." Today I tell people that if the film's protagonist, Dr. Eleanor "Ellie" Arroway was a real person, then as an astronomer she would have referred to the strong extraterrestrial signal as emanating from the star Vee-ga and not from the car Vay-ga. But then, that's Hollywood. Vega also holds a rather unique place in the annals of astronomy as being the first star ever to be photographed. The historic photograph was made using the daguerreotype process at Harvard Observatory on the night of July 16-17, 1850. A 15-inch refractor was used, but nonetheless it still took an exposure of 100 seconds for Vega's image to register.

The lyre Officially, Lyra is a lyre — a stringed instrument of the harp family used to accompany a singer or reader of poetry, especially in ancient Greece. In Greek mythology, Lyra was associated with the myth of Orpheus, the musician who was killed by the Bacchantes. After his death, his lyre was thrown into the river. Zeus sent an eagle to retrieve the lyre, and ordered both of them to be placed in the sky. This is why Lyra is often represented on star maps as a vulture or an eagle carrying a lyre, either enclosed in its wings, or in its beak. Six stars form a combined geometric pattern of a parallelogram and an equal-sided triangle attached at its northern corner. Vega gleams at the western point of the triangle. In his classic book, "The Stars — A New Way to See Them," author H.A. Rey commented that Lyra better resembled a two-stringed zither than a traditional lyre. But there are other interesting sights to explore here. Epsilon Lyrae, at the northern point of the little triangle where Vega is located, is known as the "double-double" star.

Good eyesight reveals Epsilon is really a close pair of stars. Binoculars readily separate the two, while a moderately large telescope shows each one divided again into two stars. [ Telescopes for Beginners ] The star Sheliak is one of the two that forms the southern side of the parallelogram and appears to diminish by half of its normal brightness about every 13 days when it's eclipsed by a darker companion star. Between this winking star and its neighbor, Sulafat is the famous Ring Nebula, faintly glowing like a ghostly doughnut or a cosmic smoke ring. Visible only in large telescopes, it appears as an oval ring around a star. Millions of years ago, this star exploded, hurling out great masses of gas. We see the star now through the thin part of this gaseous envelope. One final point. Thanks to precession, the wobbling motion of the earth's axis, in 12,000 years, our north polar axis will be pointing in the general direction of Vega and it will indeed officially become the North Star. My Uncle Bob passed away in 2009, but I'm sure that piece of news would have made him very happy.

Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for The New York Times and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for News 12 Westchester, New York. Vega - Alpha Lyrae | Constellation Guide Constellation Guide Constellations: A Guide to the Night Sky Vega by admin Vega, Alpha Lyrae, is the brightest star in Lyra constellation and the fifth brightest star in the sky. Vega is only fainter than Sirius in Canis Major , Canopus in Carina , Alpha Centauri in Centaurus , and Arcturus in Boötes constellation . It is the second brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere, with only Arcturus appearing brighter. Vega can be seen from latitudes north of 51°S, but not from the southernmost parts of South America. For those living north of latitude 51°N, the star is circumpolar (it never sets below the horizon). Vega is one of the three stars that form a prominent summer asterism, the Summer Triangle , along with the bright stars Altair in Aquila constellation and Deneb in Cygnus .

This artist’s concept illustrates an asteroid belt around the bright star Vega. Evidence for this warm ring of debris was found using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, and the European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Observatory, in which NASA plays an important role. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech The star’s original name, Wega, was derived from a loose transliteration of wāqi‘, which means “falling” or “swooping” in Arabic and refers to “the falling or swooping eagle” or an-nasr al-wāqi‘. Lyra constellation was depicted as a falling eagle or vulture in ancient times in Egypt and India. Curiously, this gives Vega a “bird” connection with the other two stars of the Summer Triangle , located in Aquila (the Eagle) and Cygnus (the Swan) constellations. FACTS Vega belongs to the spectral class A0 V, which means that it is a bluish white main sequence star that is still fusing hydrogen to helium in its core. The star will eventually evolve into a red giant and later become a white dwarf.

Vega has an apparent magnitude of 0.03 and is approximately 25 light years distant from Earth and the solar sytem. It is 40 times more luminous than the Sun, and one of the most luminous stars in the vicinity of our solar system, along with Sirius and Arcturus , which are also nearby (8.6 and 37 light years distant respectively). This illustration compares the rapidly rotating Vega (left) to the smaller Sun (right). Image: RJHall at wikipedia.org Vega’s estimated age is 455 million years, which is about a tenth of the Sun’s age. It is, however, 2.1 times as massive and its lifespan will also be about a tenth of the Sun’s, roughly a billion years. To a hypothetical observer in the Vega system, the Sun would appear as a dim star with a magnitude of 4.3, located in the direction of Columba constellation . Not counting the Sun, Vega was the first star to be photographed and have its spectrum recorded. It was photographed on July 17, 1850 by John Adams Whiple and William Bond at the Harvard College Observatory.

The star’s spectrum was first photographed in August 1872 by Henry Draper. Astronomers have discovered what appears to be a large asteroid belt around the bright star Vega, as illustrated here at left in brown. The ring of warm, rocky debris was detected using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, and the European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Observatory, in which NASA plays an important role. In this diagram, the Vega system, which was already known to have a cooler outer belt of comets (orange), is compared to our solar system with its asteroid and Kuiper belts. The relative size of our solar system compared to Vega is illustrated by the small drawing in the middle. On the right, our solar system is scaled up four times. The comparison illustrates that both systems have inner and outer belts with similar proportions. The gap between the inner and outer debris belts in both systems works out to a ratio of about 1-to-10, with the outer belt 10 times farther away from its host star than the inner belt. Astronomers think that the gap in the Vega system may be filled with planets, as is the case in our solar system.

Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech Among other firsts, Vega was the first solitary main-sequence star other than the Sun known to emit X-rays, and the first star known to have a disk of dust in its orbit. Vega shows occasional low-amplitude pulsations and variations in luminosity, and it is a suspected Delta Scuti variable. These stars, also known as dwarf Cepheids, show variations in luminosity as a result of both radial and non-radial pulsations of their surface. Vega is also a very fast spinner, rotating at a speed of up to 236.2 km/s at the equator, or 87.6 percent of the velocity that would cause it to start breaking up. As a result of centrifugal forces, the star’s equatorial region is bulging outward and the temperature of its photosphere is higher at the poles than at the equator. The star’s radius around the equator is 19 percent larger than its polar radius. The poles are also significantly brighter than the equatorial region. As we see Vega almost exactly pole-on, the star’s visual magnitude is higher when observed from Earth.

If we saw it along the plane of the equator, the star’s luminosity would be roughly half the apparent luminosity as seen from the pole. NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope recently captured these images of the star Vega, located 25 light years away in the constellation Lyra. Spitzer was able to detect the heat radiation from the cloud of dust around the star and found that the debris disk is much larger than previously thought. This side-by-side comparison, taken by Spitzer’s multiband imaging photometer, shows the warm infrared glows from dust particles orbiting the star at wavelengths of 24 microns (on the left in blue) and 70 microns (on the right in red). Both images show a very large, circular and smooth debris disk. The disk radius extends to at least 815 astronomical units. (One astronomical unit is the distance from Earth to the Sun, which is 150-million kilometers or 93-million miles). Scientists compared the surface brightness of the disk in the infrared wavelengths to determine the temperature distribution of the disk and then refer the corresponding particle size in the disk.

Most of the particles in the disk are only a few microns in size, or 100 times smaller than a grain of Earth sand. These fine dust particles originate from collisions of embryonic planets near the star at a radius of approximately 90 astronomical units, and are then blown away by Vega’s intense radiation. The mass and short lifetime of these small particles indicate that the disk detected by Spitzer is the aftermath of a large and relatively recent collision, involving bodies perhaps as big as the planet Pluto. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/K. Su (University of Arizona) Our solar system is moving in Vega’s direction, at a speed of 12 miles per second, and Vega will become the brightest star in the sky in about 210,000 years, and its apparent magnitude will reach a peak at -0.81 in roughly 290,000 years. Once it reaches that point, it will be the brightest star seen from Earth for approximately 270,000 years.

Vega has a circumstellar disk of dust in its orbit, and irregularities observed in the disk indicate that there is at least one planet orbiting the star, with a size comparable to that of Jupiter. Vega was the nearest star to the North Celestial Pole around 12,000 BCE and will take over as the northern pole star again around the year 13,727. The star is associated with the Lyrid meteor shower , which peaks around April 21-22 every year. The shower is also known as the Alpha Lyrids because the meteor trails appear to originate in the direction of Vega. The meteor shower, however, is not physically associated with the star or Lyra constellation . It really originates from debris left by the comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher.

Vega – Alpha Lyrae Location: 18h 36m 56.33635s (right ascension), +38°47’01.2802” (declination) Spectral class: A0 V About the Vega Star: Facts and Other Informaiton It rotates in less that one day, by comparison the Sun's rotational period is 27 days. The distance from the Sun, about 25 light years. It has a solar mass that is 2.3 to 3.1 times the Sun's mass The diameter of the star Vega is about 2.73 times the Sun's size. This is a near zero-magnitude star; it is visible to the naked eye. In Earth's northern sky, it is the third brightest star after Sirius A and Arcturus. It is fifth brightest star overall. The surface temperature is about 18,000°F at the poles and about 14,000°F at the equator. It is about 350 million years old but will run out of core fuel in 650 million years.

It is a Class A (A0) white main sequence dwarf star. It runs on hydrogen like the Sun. It functions is a standard calibration star in optical astronomy ... this is to calibrate the color scale for stars. It is sometimes called the "Harp" star because it is supposed to be the harp played by the ancient Greek musician, Orpheus. slide 2 of 5 Vega and Surrounding Space Objects Vega, with its high infrared radiation, has offered some interesting observations. Vega appears to have a surrounding disk of dust. The origin of this dust is likely to be from the collisions between objects in an orbiting debris disk. This is similar to the Kuiper Belt in the Solar System. For more information about the Kuiper Belt see the article: The Kuiper Belt . In fact, the term, Vega-like stars apply when stars display an infrared excess caused by dust emission. Furthermore, irregularities in Vega's disk tend to suggest the presence of a planet. Vega is also close to the solar apex. This is a direction in the galaxy toward which the Sun is moving; it is about 10° southwest of the star Vega.

In contrast, there is an illusory path that the Sun appears to take through the constellations in the Zodiac. This is not the actual direction the Sun is taking. See also: The Constellations of The Zodiac . slide 3 of 5 The Summer Triangle Three stars form a stellar right triangle making it one of the best landmarks in the August night sky. Vega is at one vertex, and it is located high above in the sky at the constellation's western-most point, and it appears as the brightest of the three. Then Deneb, to the east of Vega, appears the dimmest. Finally, Altair lies below to the south, and it forms the most distant point of this triad. These three stars belong to an unofficial star group that together link the constellations Lyra (Vega), Cygnus the Swan (Deneb), and Aquila the Eagle (Altair). Bright star Vega on May evenings | Tonight | EarthSky Bright star Vega on May evenings By Deborah Byrd in Tonight | May 11, 2016 Moon, Mercury before sunrise January 25 Tonight, look for the star Vega, the fifth brightest star in the sky.

If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, you’ll find this beautiful bluish star easily, simply by looking northeastward at mid-evening in May. Try it! Just look northeast in mid-evening in May. You’ll see this bright bluish star shining above that horizon. From far south in the Southern Hemisphere, you can’t see this star until late at night in May because Vega is located so far north on the sky’s dome. Vega will reach its high point for the night around 3 to 4 hours after midnight, at which time people in the Southern Hemisphere can see this star in the northern sky. As seen from mid-northern latitudes, the star shines high overhead at this early morning hour. Because it’s the brightest star in the constellation Lyra the Harp , Vega is sometimes called the Harp Star. Enjoying EarthSky so far? Sign up for our free daily newsletter today! The constellation Lyra the Harp, with its brightest star Vega and other interesting stars or objects within its boundaries. Vega is a lovely star to come to know. When I was first learning the night sky, nearly 40 years ago, I spent hours, days, weeks, months poring over charts and books.

So I sometimes came to know the names and whereabouts of certain stars before seeing them in the night sky. One soft May evening, I happened to glance toward the northeast. I was thrilled at the sight of Vega – gleaming, sapphire-blue – and surprisingly bright for being so low in the sky. Like all stars, Vega rises some four minutes earlier each day as Earth moves around the sun. So Vega will ornament our evening sky throughout the summer and fall. Although Vega is considered a late spring or summer star, it’s actually so far north on the sky’s dome that you can find it at some time during the night, nearly every night of the year at mid-northern latitudes. Bottom line: It’s easy to identify the star Vega in the constellation Lyra at this time of year. Just look northeast in the evening for a bright, bluish star above the northeastern horizon. Closer look at Vega Star from the Lyra Constellation - YouTube Closer look at Vega Star from the Lyra Constellation Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now.

Please try again later. Published on Jun 19, 2013 Vega, is the brightest star in the Constellation Lyra, the fifth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is a relatively close star to us and only 25 light years away. Vega can often be seen near the zenith in the mid-northern latitudes during the evening in the Northern Hemisphere summer. This star lies at a vertex of a widely spaced asterism called the Summer Triangle, which consists of the zero-magnitude stars Vega in the constellation Lyra and Altair in Aquila, plus the first magnitude star Deneb in Cygnus. This formation is the approximate shape of a right triangle, with Vega located at its right angle. The Summer Triangle is recognizable in the northern skies for there are few other bright stars in its vicinity. Vega can be identified easily because Altair and its two neighbouring stars form a line which points at Vega. Although a planet has yet to be directly observed around Vega, the presence of a planetary system can not yet be precluded. Thus there could be smaller, terrestrial planets orbiting closer to the star.

The inclination of planetary orbits around Vega is likely to be closely aligned to the equatorial plane of this star. From the perspective of an observer on a hypothetical planet around Vega, the Sun would appear as a faint 4.3 magnitude star in the Columba constellation. In the film Contact, the message intercepted by Jodi Foster's character is coming from Vega, the brightest star in the Lyra constellation. Category Vega: The Once and Future North Star Vega: The Once and Future North Star By Elizabeth Howell, Space.com Contributor | June 25, 2013 06:34pm ET MORE Look directly overhead to find the star Vega in the constellation Lyra. North is at the top of this sky map. Credit: Starry Night Software Vega is a bright star just 25 light-years from Earth, visible in the summer sky of the Northern Hemisphere. The star is part of the constellation Lyra and forms an asterism with the stars Deneb and Altair that is known as the Summer Triangle . Because the Earth's axis wobbles, north gradually shifts to different stars over a 26,000-year cycle.

Vega was the North Star several thousand years ago , and will become the North Star again in about 12,000 years. Locating Vega Vega is almost directly overhead in mid-northern latitudes on mid-summer nights. Also, from mid-northern latitudes such as New York or Madrid, Vega goes below the horizon for only seven hours a day and can be seen on any night of the year. Farther south, Vega is below the horizon for a longer interval of time, but in Alaska, northern Canada and much of Europe, Vega never sets. Vega's location is: Right Ascension: 18h 36m 56.3s Declination: 38 degrees 47 minutes 01 second Though they look serene and silent from our vantage on Earth, stars are actually roiling balls of violent plasma. Test your stellar smarts with this quiz. 0 of 10 questions complete Star Quiz: Test Your Stellar Smarts Though they look serene and silent from our vantage on Earth, stars are actually roiling balls of violent plasma. Test your stellar smarts with this quiz.

0 of This sky map shows the location of the bright stars Vega, Altair and Deneb in the eastern night sky in summer 2012. The stars form the Summer Triangle visible in North Hemisphere night skies. Credit: Starry Night Software Early observations Because Vega's blue-white light is so bright — it has an apparent magnitude of 0.03 — it features prominently in ancient cultures ranging from the Chinese to the Polynesians to the Hindu. Its name comes from the Arabic word waqi, which means "falling" or "swooping." "This is a reference to the time when people regarded the constellation Lyra as a swooping vulture rather than a lyre," wrote Michael Anissimov on the website wiseGEEK . The name of Vega and other astronomical targets symbolize the traditional importance of astronomy in Islam , noted one researcher, because following the stars allowed believers to mark the times of prayer and festivals, as well as to find the holy city of Mecca.

"Thus hundreds of stars and constellations have Arabic names, such as Altair, Deneb, Vega and Rigel," wrote Nidhal Guessoum, a professor of physics and astronomy at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates in a 2013 Nature article. In more modern times, Vega was the first star to be photographed, other than the sun. Astronomers captured the image through the daguerreotype process at Harvard Observatory, using a 15-inch refractor, on July 16-17, 1850. The star also was chosen for the first spectrographic image ; in 1872, Henry Draper was the first to break down Vega's light to show the various elements that make up the star. This artist's concept contrasts Vega with our own Sun. Credit: J. Aufdenberg and NOAO/AURA/NSF Vega in recent years Vega rose to prominence in popular culture in the late 1990s after Carl Sagan's book Contact was adapted into a Hollywood movie .

Starring Jodie Foster, the story followed an astronomer working for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) who discovers a signal appearing to emanate from Vega. This artist's concept illustrates an asteroid belt around the bright star Vega. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Telescopic observations in 2006 revealed Vega is whipping around so quickly that its poles are several thousand degrees warmer than the equator . The star, which rotates every 12.5 hours, is at 90 percent of its critical rotation speed, or the velocity at which it would tear itself apart. In early 2013, astronomers announced they had discovered an asteroid belt surrounding Vega – possibly pointing to planets within the rocks' midst. The layout (which was similar to findings near the star Fomalhaut) suggests there are two areas: icy asteroids in the outer area, and warmer space rocks closer to the star. "Overall, the large gap between the warm and the cold belts is a signpost that points to multiple planets likely orbiting around Vega and Fomalhaut," said Kate Su, an astronomer at the Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona, at the American Astronomical Society 2013 annual meeting.

— Elizabeth Howell, SPACE.com Contributor Lyra Constellation: Facts, Myth, Stars, Deep Sky Objects, Pictures | Constellation Guide Constellation Guide Constellations: A Guide to the Night Sky Lyra Constellation Lyra constellation lies in the northern sky. It represents the lyre, a musical instrument with strings used in antiquity and later times. The constellation is associated with the myth of the Greek musician and poet Orpheus. It was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. Lyra contains Vega , the fifth brightest star in the sky and second brightest star in the northern hemisphere, and the famous variable star RR Lyrae. It is also home to several notable deep sky objects, including the globular cluster Messier 56 , the planetary nebula Messier 57 (the Ring Nebula ), the merging triplet of galaxies NGC 6745, and the open cluster NGC 6791. FACTS, LOCATION & MAP Lyra Constellation Map, by IAU and Sky&Telescope magazine Lyra is a small constellation, 52nd in size, occupying an area of 286 square degrees.

It is located in the fourth quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ4) and can be seen at latitudes between +90° and -40°. The neighboring constellations are Cygnus , Draco , Hercules and Vulpecula . Lyra contains two Messier objects – Messier 56 (M56, NGC 6779) and Messier 57 (M57, NGC 6720, the Ring Nebula) – and has nine stars with known planets. The brightest star in the constellation is Vega, Alpha Lyrae , which is also the fifth brightest star in the sky, with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.03. There are three meteor showers associated with the constellation: the Lyrids , which peak around April 21-22 every year, the June Lyrids and the Alpha Lyrids.

Lyra belongs to the Hercules family of constellations, along with Aquila , Ara , Centaurus , Corona Australis , Corvus , Crater , Crux , Cygnus , Hercules , Hydra , Lupus , Ophiuchus , Sagitta , Scutum , Sextans , Serpens , Triangulum Australe and Vulpecula . MYTH Lyra represents the lyre of Orpheus, the musician and poet in Greek mythology who was killed by the Bacchantes. When he died, his lyre was thrown into a river. Zeus sent an eagle to get the lyre and placed both of them in the sky. Orpheus was the son of the Thracian King Oeagrus and the muse Calliope. When he was young, god Apollo gave him a golden lyre and taught him to play it, and his mother taught him to write verses. Orpheus was known for his ability to charm even stones with his music, for his attempts to save his wife Eurydice from the underworld, and for being the harpist and companion of Jason and the Argonauts.

Without Orpheus and his music, the Argonauts would not have been able to make it past the Sirens, whose song enticed sailors to come to them, which usually resulted in sailors crashing their ships into the islands on which the Sirens lived. When the Argonauts approached the islands, Orpheus drew his lyre and played music that drowned out the Sirens’ calls. The most famous story involving Orpheus is that of the death of his wife Eurydice. Eurydice was trying to escape a satyr at her wedding, and fell into a nest of vipers. She was bitten on the heel and died. Orpheus found the body and, deeply shaken, he played songs that made the gods and the nymphs cry. The gods felt pity for him and advised him to travel to the underworld and try to retrieve Eurydice. Orpheus took their advice. Once there, his song deeply moved Hades and his wife Persephone and they agreed to return Eurydice to the world of the living on one condition: Orpheus should walk in front of her and not look back until they both had reached the upper world.

Orpheus and Eurydice started walking and, as much as he wanted to, he did not look back. However, he forgot that they both had to arrive to the upper world before he could turn. As soon as he reached it, he turned around, but Eurydice was not quite up there yet and she disappeared from his sight, for good this time. Orpheus found his death at the hands of Thracian Maenads, who ripped him to shreds for not honouring Dionysus. His lyre was carried to heaven by the Muses, who also collected the fragments of his body and buried them below Mount Olympus. Lyra constellation was often depicted as a vulture or an eagle carrying Orpheus’ lyre in its wings or beak, and called Aquila Cadens or Vultur Cadens, which means “the falling eagle” or “falling vulture.” In Wales, the constellation is known as King Arthur’s Harp (Talyn Arthur) or King David’s Harp. MAJOR STARS IN LYRA Vega, Alpha Lyrae, image: Roberto Mura Vega – α Lyrae (Alpha Lyrae) Vega is the brightest star in the Lyra constellation.

With an apparent visual magnitude of 0.03, it is also the fifth brightest star in the night sky, after Sirius in Canis Major , Canopus in Carina , Arcturus in Boötes , and Alpha Centauri A in Centaurus constellation . Vega is also the second brightest star in the northern sky; only Arcturus is brighter. The star is 25.04 light years distant from Earth. Vega was the first star other than the Sun to be photographed and the first one to have its spectrum recorded. It was first imaged by William Bond and John Adams Whipple at the Harvard College Observatory on July 17, 1850, and it was the American amateur astronomer Henry Draper who took the first photograph of Vega’s spectrum in August 1872. The star belongs to the spectral class A0V, which makes it a white dwarf. It was the northern pole star around the year 12,000 BC and will be again around the year 13,727.

The Summer Triangle – Vega, Altair, Deneb Vega is 2.1 times as massive as the Sun, and only about a tenth of the Sun’s age. It is believed to be about 455 million years old, which is about a half of its life expectancy. It is a suspected variable star and a rapid rotator, with a projected rotational velocity of 274 km/s at the equator. The star is believed to have a circumstellar disk of dust, as it emits excess infrared radiation. It may have at least one planet the size of Jupiter in its orbit. Vega is easy to find in the night sky because it is bright and also because it is part of a familiar summer asterism, the Summer Triangle , which it forms with the stars Altair in the constellation Aquila and Deneb in Cygnus . Vega is located at the vertex of the triangle, and easy to find because the constellation Cygnus, the Swan , is easily recognizable in the sky. Sulafat – γ Lyrae (Gamma Lyrae) Gamma Lyrae is the second brightest star in the constellation.

It has an apparent visual magnitude of 3.261 and is approximately 620 light years distant from the Sun. The star is a blue-white giant. It belongs to the spectral class B9 III. Gamma Lyrae is sometimes known by its traditional names, Sulafat (Sulaphat) and Jugum. The name Sulafat is derived from the Arabic al-sulḥafāt, which means “the turtle,” and Jugum comes from the Latin word iugum, meaning “yoke.” The star has a radius 15 times that of the Sun. It is a relatively fast rotator, with a projected rotational velocity of 71-72 km/s. Sheliak –β Lyrae (Beta Lyrae) Beta Lyrae is a double star system. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 3.52 and is approximately 960 light years distant from Earth. It has the traditional name Sheliak, derived from šiliyāq, which is the Arabic name for the constellation. The Beta Lyrae system has a variable luminosity, ranging from 3.4 to 4.3 magnitudes.

The variability was first discovered by the British astronomer John Goodricke in 1784. The components are so close together that they form a spectroscopic binary star, one that cannot be resolved into individual components with optical telescopes.The two orbit each other with a period of 12.9414 days and periodically eclipse each other. As a result, their apparent magnitude varies. The primary star has the stellar classification of B7II – it is a blue-white bright giant. The secondary component is also believed to be a class B star. The system is a semidetached binary, one in which one of the stars fills the binary star’s Roche lobe, and the other star does not. Gas from the surface of the donor star is transferred to the accreting star, and the transfer of mass dominates the system’s evolution. The B7II star, now the less massive component, was once the more massive component in the system. As is evolved into a giant, it transferred most of its mass to the other star, as the two are in close orbit. As a result, the other star is now surrounded by an accretion disk, one that makes it difficult to pinpoint the star’s exact stellar type.

R Lyrae and Vega. Image: Kevin Heider, NASA, ESA. Credit: A. Fujii R Lyrae R Lyrae is a red giant with the stellar classification of M5III. It is a semiregular pulsating star with an apparent magnitude that varies between 3.9 and 5.0. The star is approximately 350 light years distant from the solar system. It is significantly brighter and larger, yet also cooler than the Sun. δ Lyrae (Delta Lyrae) Delta Lyrae consists of a star and a star system sharing the same Bayer designation. Delta-1 Lyrae is a binary star system with an orbital period of about 88 days. The components have apparent magnitudes of 5.569 and 9.8. The separation between the two stars is very small and they form a spectroscopic binary. The system is approximately 1,100 light years distant from the Sun. The primary star is a blue-white dwarf with the stellar classification of B2.5 V. It is twice as hot and much brighter than the Sun.

The companion is an orange giant of the spectral type K2III, which makes it brighter and larger, yet cooler than the Sun. Delta-2 Lyrae is a red bright giant with the stellar classification M4 II. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 4.30 and is approximately 740 light years distant. It is 6,500 times more luminous than the Sun and has a radius 200 times solar. The star is believed to be 75 million years old. The Double Double, Epsilon Lyrae. Image: Robert Mura The Double Double – ε Lyrae (Epsilon Lyrae) Epsilon Lyrae, popularly known as the Double Double, is a multiple star system about 162 light years away. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 4.7. In binoculars, the systems appears as two stars, each of which can be resolved into a binary when observed through a telescope. The two main components, the binary stars, orbit each other. Epsilon-1 Lyrae, the northern component in the system, is a double star consisting of components that are only 2.35 arcseconds apart.

The stars have apparent magnitudes of 4.7 and 6.2 and an orbital period of about 1,200 years. The stars of Epsilon-2 Lyrae are separated by 2.3 arcseconds and have magnitudes of 5.1 and 5.5. Their orbital period is about half that of the Epsilon-1 stars. Epsilon Lyrae has a fifth component, discovered in 1985. The star orbits the Epsilon-2 pair with an estimated period of a few decades. RR Lyrae RR Lyrae is a well known variable star in Lyra constellation, located near the border with Cygnus . The star serves as a prototype of an entire class of stars, known as the RR Lyrae variables. These are periodic variable stars usually found in globular clusters and frequently used to measure galactic distances, as the relationship between their pulsation period and absolute magnitude makes them excellent standard candles. RR Lyrae variables are pulsating horizontal brach stars belonging to the spectral class A (and much less frequently F), with about half the Sun’s mass. They are believed to have been similar to the Sun at some point, but then shed their mass.

They are old, metal-poor stars with an average absolute magnitude of 0.75, and only 40 to 50 times more luminous than the Sun. RR Lyrae is the brightest star in this class, with an apparent magnitude ranging from 7.06 to 8.12. The star has a mean apparent magnitude of 7.195 and is approximately 860 light years distant from the Sun. RR Lyrae has evolved from the main sequence, passed through the red giant stage and is now in the horizontal branch (HB) stage of evolution, powered by helium fusion in its core and hydrogen fusion in the shell surrounding the core. RR Lyrae’s variability was first discovered by the Scottish astronomer Williamina Fleming in 1901. The star shows a regular pattern of pulsation over a short period of 0.56686776 days, or 13 hours and 36 minutes. Each such radial pulsation causes the star’s radius to vary from 5.1 to 5.6 times the solar radius.

DM Lyrae DM Lyrae is a dwarf nova, a cataclysmic variable star composed of a close binary system in which one of the stars is a white dwarf that accretes matter from the companion star. As a result, the white dwarf is involved in periodic outbursts, presumably as a result of the instability in the accretion disk. The primary component in the DM Lyrae system is of unknown type. The system usually has an apparent visual magnitude of 18, but during outbursts the magnitude reaches 13.6. Two such outbursts were observed in the last century, one in 1928 and another in July 1996. The most recent one, in 1996, was a very long and bright one, indicating that the star is a variable of the SU Ursae Majoris type, one that has super-outbursts in addition to normal outbursts. κ Lyrae (Kappa Lyrae) Kappa Lyrae is an orange giant with the stellar classification of K2III. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 4.323 and is approximately 238 light years distant from the solar system.

It is classified as a variable star. Alathfar – μ Lyrae (Mu Lyrae) Mu Lyrae is a white subgiant star belonging to the spectral class A3IVn. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 5.12 and is approximately 439 light years distant from Earth. The star’s traditional name, Alathfar (or Al Athfar), comes from the Arabic al-’uz̧fur, which means “the talons (of the swooping eagle.” It shares the name with Eta Lyrae, but the latter is usually spelled Aladfar. Mu Lyrae lies 2.5 degrees west-northwest of Vega. Gliese 758 Gliese 758 is a yellow dwarf with the stellar classification of G8V. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 6.36 and is 51.4 light years distant from the Sun. It can easily be seen in binoculars. The star is similar to the Sun. It has 97 percent of the Sun’s mass, and 51 percent higher metallicity, i.e. abundance of elements other than hydrogen and helium.

A substellar companion, Gliese 758 b, was discovered in the star’s orbit in November 2009. It has between 30 and 40 Jupiter masses. Kuiper 90 (17 Lyrae C, Gliese 747AB) Gliese 747AB is a nearby star system composed of two red dwarf stars of the spectral types M3 and M5. The system is 26.5 light years distant from the Sun. The two stars orbit each other at a small angular separation (0.35”) with a period of 5 years. DEEP SKY OBJECTS IN LYRA Messier 56 by Hubble Space Telescope Messier 56 (M56, NGC 6779) Messier 56 is a globular cluster in Lyra constellation. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 8.3 and is approximately 32,900 light years distant from the solar system. The cluster is about 84 light years across. It was discovered by Charles Messier on January 19, 1779.

M56 lies halfway between the stars Albireo (Beta Cygni) in Cygnus constellation and Sulafat, Gamma Lyrae. It appears as a fuzzy star in larger binoculars, but can be resolved with an 8 inch telescope. M56 is believed to be about 13.70 billion years old. The brightest stars in it are 13th magnitude, and it contains about a dozen variables. The planetary nebula Messier 57, also known as the Ring Nebula, in the constellation Lyra. Image: Hubble Heritage Team The Ring Nebula – Messier 57 (M57, NGC 6720) The Ring Nebula , Messier 57, is a famous planetary nebula in Lyra constellation, located south of the bright star Vega, about 40% of the distance from Beta to Gamma Lyrae. It is relatively easy to find and is a popular target among amateur astronomers. The nebula was formed when a shell of ionized gas was expelled by a red giant star that was in the process of becoming a white dwarf. It is expanding at the rate of about 1 arcsecond per century.

The central planetary nebula nucleus (PNN) was discovered by the Hungarian astronomer Jenő Gothard on September 1, 1886. The Ring Nebula belongs to the class of planetary nebulae known as bipolar nebulae. It has a thick equatorial ring that noticeably extends the structure through its main axis of symmetry. The nebula has an apparent visual magnitude of 8.8 and is approximately 2,300 light years distant. It was discovered by the French astrononer Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix in January 1779, and Charles Messier discovered it independently later the same month, and included it in his catalogue as the 57th object. NGC 6791, image: NASA, ESA, Digitized Sky Survey, and L. Bedin (STScI) NGC 6791 NGC 6791 is an open cluster in Lyra. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 9.5 and is approximately 13,300 light years distant from the solar system. The cluster was discovered by the German astronomer Friedrich August Theodor Winnecke in 1853.

It is believed to be around 8 billion years old. It is one of the oldest and most metal-rich clusters known in the Milky Way. NGC 6745 – A large spiral galaxy, with its nucleus still intact, peers at the smaller passing galaxy (nearly out of the field of view at lower right), while a bright blue beak and bright whitish-blue top feathers show the distinct path taken during the smaller galaxy’s journey. These galaxies did not merely interact gravitationally as they passed one another, they actually collided. When galaxies collide, the stars that normally comprise the major portion of the luminous mass of each of the two galaxies will almost never collide with each other, but will pass rather freely between each other with little damage. Wherever the interstellar clouds of the two galaxies collide, they do not freely move past each other without interruption but, rather, suffer a damaging collision. High relative velocities cause ram pressures at the surface of contact between the interacting interstellar clouds. This pressure, in turn, produces material densities sufficiently extreme as to trigger star formation through gravitational collapse. The hot blue stars in this image are evidence of this star formation.

Image: Hubble Heritage Team NGC 6745 NGC 6745 is an irregular galaxy in Lyra constellation, believed to be around 10 billion years old. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 13.3 and is approximately 206 million light years distant from the Sun. NGC 6745 is really a triplet of galaxies that have been colliding and merging for hundreds of millions of years. The larger galaxy, NGC 6745A, is believed to have been a spiral galaxy before the collision, but now appears peculiar as a result of the encounter. The smaller galaxy, NGC 6745B, has passed through the larger one and is now moving away from it. The smaller galaxy is believed to have lost most of its interstellar medium to the larger one in the collision. IC 1296 IC 1296 is a barred spiral galaxy in Lyra constellation. It has an apparent visual magnitude of 14.8 and is approximately 221 million light years distant from Earth. The galaxy lies 4′ to the north-west of the Ring Nebula . Astronomy

Question: In which constellation is the bright star Vega?
Answer: Lyra